Thunderbirds overcome Black Bears to win fourth straight

Feb 21, 2025

(OTTAWA, ON) February 21, 2025 -- Another high-scoring fourth quarter was the difference for the Halifax Thunderbirds, as they beat the Ottawa Black Bears 14-9 at Canadian Tire on Friday night. 

Randy Staats was the offensive leader again for the Thunderbirds, scoring four goals and five points on the night. Ryan Terefenko continued his offensive tear in February, scoring another hat trick while adding an assist for a four-point night. 

Clarke Petterson (2G, 1A), Jake Withers (3A), Dawson Theede (2G, 1A), Mike Robinson (2A), Colton Armstrong (1G, 1A), Graeme Hossack (2A), and Nonkon Thompson (2G) also chipped in multi-point nights. 

Warren Hill earned his fourth consecutive win on the year with a 40-save effort on the road.

Halifax jumped out to an early lead, with Terefenko kicking things off with a goal scored from outside the restraining line after a hidden-ball trick fooled the defence. Larson Sundown got that goal back on the power play under 30 seconds later to knot things at one. 

The Thunderbirds continued their aggressive transition push, with Colton Armstrong using a seal from Terefenko to get his hands free and fire a shot home. A bouncer by Staats capped off the opening frame, putting Halifax ahead 3-1 through one. 

Connor Kearnan cut into that lead with the opening goal of the second at the 13:50 mark of the quarter, but Halifax took a stranglehold on the lead with a four-goal run. 

Petterson started it off by outwaiting Higgins and pinging a shot off the far-side post while driving to the middle of the floor. Staats then completed his first-half hat trick, lowing the shoulder on his defender and bouncing another shot home before getting sprung for a breakaway and beating Higgins while in alone. 

Terefenko capped off the run with his second of the game in transition. Reilly O'Connor got one back for Ottawa in the final minute of the half, but Halifax went into the locker room with a 7-3 advantage. 

However, Ottawa was the team that came out of the half on fire. A two-goal run from Sundown cut the deficit to two, and then a pair from Jeff Teat tied the game at seven. Jacob Dunbar's first goal of the game at the 2:06 mark of the third gave Ottawa their first lead of the night. But it's the last time they'd be ahead for the game. 

Needing a spark heading into the fourth, Theede got the game back to even at the 1:05 mark, streaking off the bench for a transition marker. Petterson gave the Thunderbirds the lead back with just two seconds left in the third, reaching around his defender for a shot that found the twine. 

With 15 minutes remaining, Halifax held a 9-8 lead. They continued their strong fourth-quarter play, which has aided them during this current win streak. Staats scored his fourth goal just over two and a half minutes into the final frame, beating Higgins off a slick behind-the-back feed from Petterson. 

Theede added another insurance goal, working the pick and roll with Cody Jamieson to open himself up on top of the crease. Teat got the Black Bears a goal back on the man advantage, but a big transition marker from the returning Nonkon Thompson killed any momentum that Ottawa had down the stretch. 

Terefenko completed his third hat trick in four games with an empty netter -- the third straight game he's sealed a game with an empty-net goal, and Thompson added another empty netter just over two minutes later to seal the 14-9 road victory for Halifax.

With four straight wins under their belts, the Thunderbirds will look ahead to a road contest against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs on Mar 1 at Lee's Family Forum. Face-off is set for 11:00 p.m. AT.